• Intern Corner
    AlgeriaDemocracy and Governance

    Algeria’s Tebboune, Le Pouvoir, and the Challenges of Legitimacy

    Oct 3, 2024Nour Taha

    On September 7, Algerians headed to the polls for an early presidential election that revealed deep apathy and a potential risk to stability in Africa’s territ…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanDemocracy and Governance

    Jordanian Elections in the Shadow of Domestic and Regional Tensions

    Sep 29, 2024Curtis Ryan

    As the Middle East edges closer to a broader war, both regional tensions and domestic politics have put the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan increasingly on edge. W…

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    Kais Saied’s Policies and Practices May Lead to an Explosion in Tunisia

    Sep 6, 2024Patricia Karam

    Tunisia has experienced a disquieting authoritarian regression over the last few years following promising beginnings as a young democracy after the January 20…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranDemocracy and Governance

    Iran’s New President and Foreign Minister Stand on the Edge of a Precipice

    Aug 30, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    Commenting on Hezbollah’s retaliation to Israel’s August 25 pre-emptive strike on its positions, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani asserted tha…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance

    No Good ‘Day After’ Under Current Palestinian Politics

    Aug 7, 2024Dana El Kurd

    Some 300 days into the Israeli war on Gaza, and following Israel’s shocking July 31 assassination of Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh, a major figure in ceasefire negoti…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranDemocracy and Governance

    Iran’s New President Must Navigate Dangerous Waters

    Aug 1, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    For the third time in the young history of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a political leader identified with the “Reformist” camp has won the presidency. Masoud…

  • Policy Analysis
    KuwaitDemocracy and Governance

    The Supremacy of Executive Power in Kuwait

    Two decades of political turbulence in Kuwait came to a head on the evening of May 10 when Emir Mishal al-Ahmad Al-Sabah announced he was suspending the Nation…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranDemocracy and Governance

    Will Ebrahim Raisi’s Death Help Ultra-Hardliners ‘Make Iran Great Again’?

    May 31, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    The May 19 deaths of President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a fiery helicopter crash has created a challenge that Iran’s lead…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyDemocracy and Governance

    Local Elections Show Turkey’s Democratic Resilience

    May 2, 2024Salim Çevik

    Immediately after his re-election to a third term last May, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that his Justice and Development Party (AKP) was r…

  • Policy Analysis
    Democracy and Governance

    The State of Civil Society in MENA after the 2011 Uprisings

    Apr 10, 2024Anwar Mhajne

    Anwar Mhajne discusses the condition of civil society organizations in the Arab world and regime strategies to restrict their activities, especially political …

  • Policy Analysis
    LibyaDemocracy and Governance

    Libya: Despite Talks on a Unified Government, Impasse Remains

    Talks last month in Cairo between representatives of Libya’s two rival governments raised hopes over progress in resolving the country’s 10-year political impa…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    The Limits of Justice in Lebanon—and What It Means for the Future of the Country

    Feb 28, 2024Patricia Karam

    Three years ago this month, the assassination of Lokman Slim—public intellectual, human rights defender, writer and publisher, and outspoken critic of Hezbolla…